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Committee member proposes restating First Amendment to bar government endorsement of any religion
Summary
At a Judiciary: House Committee meeting, a committee member proposed using the Constitution's establishment and free exercise clauses as a model to bar government endorsement of any religion, and asked whether such language could win support from both party caucuses.
At a meeting of the Judiciary: House Committee, a committee member proposed drafting language based on the U.S. Constitution's text to make clear that government may not endorse or establish any religion.
The committee member read aloud suggested language, saying: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." They framed that formulation as covering all faiths and movements and listed examples "including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, 'Jews for Jesus,' Seventh-day Adventism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, Unitarian Universalism, Branch Davidianism and Hare Krishna" to illustrate the proposal's intended universality.
The speaker suggested referring to the two clauses as the "establishment clause" and the "free exercise clause," and asked colleagues whether that wording would cover the committee's concerns. They said they believed the text could pass the Democratic caucus and asked whether it could also pass the Republican conference, expressing uncertainty about cross-party support.
No formal motion or vote on adopting the proposed wording was recorded in the transcript. The exchange in the transcript is limited to the speaker's proposal and questions about political viability; the committee did not record next steps or a formal referral in the provided segments.
